Do I Need a Visa to Transfer Flights?

Can I connect flights in China from the USA to Thailand? Do I need a transit visa? — Hello Russ, I apologize that I am answering this so late — I put the travel help portion of vagabond journey.com on hold while I was working on archaeology projects in Arizona — but, if you did [...]

Can I connect flights in China from the USA to Thailand? Do I need a transit visa? —

Hello Russ,

I apologize that I am answering this so late — I put the travel help portion of vagabond journey.com on hold while I was working on archaeology projects in Arizona — but, if you did not already do these travels yet, you will have no problem connecting flights in China.

I do not think that I have ever connected flights in China, but I have in other countries where I would otherwise need a visa.

So if you just stay in the airport and go from terminal to terminal, then you do not need a visa. China is not your destination country, so just so you have your paperwork in order for going to Thailand you will be alright. Your passport probably will not even be check in China for anything other than identification purposes.

Airports are sort of no-man’s-lands between countries and global regions that do not require visas just to traverse. An airport is sort of a buffer zone — a gray area — of a country, and, just so you don’t leave it and go walking around outside, is not really considered part of the “soil.” So just so you are just transferring through the airport you will not need to show the proper documentation for entering China.

You would only need a transit visa if you wanted to travel by land through China to another country or if you wanted to leave the airport and check out the city you are transferring flights in for a few days.

Wade Shepard is the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. He has been traveling the world since 1999, through 90 countries. He is the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China, and contributes to The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. Wade Shepard has written 3541 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

Navigate

About Wade Shepard

I’m an itinerant writer who has been traveling the world since 1999, through 90 countries. I wrote Ghost Cities of China, a book which chronicles the two years that I spent in China’s new cities, and have another book about the New Silk Road coming out soon. I’m a regular contributor to Forbes, The Guardian, and the South China Morning Post, and I have been featured on BBC World, VICE, NPR Morning Edition, CNBC Squawk Box, CBC The Current … This is my personal blog where I share stories from the road that don’t fit in anywhere else. In other words, this is my daily diary, raw and real — it is not edited or even proofread. Subscribe below.